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From Our Editor

Kala J. Melchiori, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, James Madison University

With this issue of The Forward, we reflect on our summer conference, celebrate our GSC essay contest winners, and look ahead to the work of our society and profession. Outgoing SPSSI President Heather Bullock reflects on SPSSI’s collective strength and historical legacy as we approach our 90th anniversary as an organization. Incoming President Kimberly Barsamian Khan accepts the baton and forecasts the path ahead for us as proactive scientists and advocates. Our Director of Policy and Communications Sam Abbott is also looking forward with a call for SPSSI and its members to contribute to a new policy project aimed at addressing economic inequality. Across these leadership voices, the message is clear: we need to lean into the power of community, advocacy, and evidence-based action as an answer to the political turmoil we face today. 

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Harnessing the Power of SPSSI’s Collective Strength

Heather Bullock, Professor, Department of Psychology, Director, Center for Economic Justice and Action, Past SPSSI President, University of California, Santa Cruz

“We are living in unprecedented times.” I have heard or read these words too often to count in response to events over the past year, often to indicate the difficulty of advancing evidence-based arguments in polarized times or to describe seemingly insurmountable odds against social justice progress. Much of my presidential year has been driven by the demands of the moment, navigating the strong headwinds facing justice-oriented professional societies and their members while seeking strategies for advancing SPSSI’s mission and crucial contributions in the current political climate. During a time when many institutions, groups, and norms are under attack and when so much is at stake, serving SPSSI, an organization that means so much to me professionally and personally, has been both an honor and incredibly humbling. I am forever grateful for this opportunity. 

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A Message from Incoming SPSSI President:
Kimberly Barsamian Khan

Kimberly Barsamian Kahn, Professor, Department of Psychology, PI of the Gender, Race, and Sexual Prejudice (GRASP) Lab, SPSSI President, Portland State University 

It is with great honor that I take over the SPSSI Presidency during this critical time for our organization and society. What is clear is that SPSSI and social issues research are needed now more than ever. The threats to our science, research, and social justice are ever present, with the goal of silencing and discrediting our work as scientists. These attacks hit at our core identities as scholars and individuals. In the U.S., I reflect on the fact that we are just over 5 years from the police killing of African American George Floyd in 2020 and the historic summer of racial reckoning protests. The nationwide demands for change and the hope that ensued was palpable. We find ourselves now in a present-day climate in which DEI is under attack, and any mentions of race or other stigmatized statuses are erased, defunded, or banned. As I write this, President Trump is discussing sending National Guard troops to my home city of Portland, Oregon, following in the footsteps of recent occupations of other U.S. cities.  

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We hope you will join us for #SPSSICON26
in New Orleans, LA!

Summer 2025


In This Edition

Editor’s Column:
Kala Melchiori


Articles:

Harnessing the Power of SPSSI’s Collective Strength:
Heather Bullock


A Message from Incoming SPSSI President:
Kimberly
Barsamian Kahn


The Unfortunate Timeliness of SPSSI’s New Policy Project:
Sam Abbott


From the Editor of the Contemporary Social Issues
Book Series:
Brian D. Christens


SPSSI-New York Regional Group:
Harold Takooshian


Graduate Student Council Essay Winners (Theme: Bodily Autonomy in Public Policy)

Jessica A. Thurman: Bodily Autonomy, Narcissistic Abuse, and Public Policy: A Global Call for Inclusive Liberation

Abbey Michelle Gali: Appropriated Flesh: Cultural Appropriation, Dominant Discourse, and the Erosion of Bodily Autonomy

Michelle A. Young: Peeling Back the Mundane Veneer: Examining Bodily Autonomy at the Intersection of Mental Health and Mass Incarceration through the Lens of Drug Formularies

Sophia M. Orsinelli: Surveillance and Criminalization of People Experiencing Homeless

Selma Mackay: Reproductive Health Education Policies in Mississippi Public Schools

Nazli Yagmur Erdogmus: Bodies That Freely Roam: Politics of Containment in Turkey

Highlights from the 2025 SPSSI Conference

Kala Melchiori



Upcoming Deadlines
 
Grants-in-Aid        October 15
     
Clara Mayo   October 15
     
Kurt Lewin Award   October 18
     
Distinguished Service
to SPSSI Awards
  October 25